|
|
Article: A gunner's tale: the sole survivor of his crew, Robert Sweatt's courage and determination were testaments to his crew and all others who flew in the face of danger.
- Article from:
- Airman
- Article date:
- February 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Air Force, Air Force News Agency. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
When the shooting started, he was only expected to survive about 17 seconds.
At least that's what airmen believed was the average life expectancy of an aerial gunner in combat. More than 12,000 B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses were lost during World War II--a war that claimed the lives of more than 71,000 enlisted aircrew members.
He escaped near-certain death, but some 60 years later Robert Sweatt still harbors many haunting memories and feelings of his crew members--all dead from a single attack over France.
In all, the former sergeant and aerial gunner aboard the B-24 during World War II survived 16 missions over Europe before ...